Hindu Mythology

Lesson 6: The Mahabharata

Some Comparisons between the Ramayana and the Mahabharata

The Ramayana took place in the Treta Yuga and the Mahabharata in the Dwapar Yuga. We have earlier seen that there is a decline in moral standards as one proceeds from one Yuga to the next. A comparison of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata illustrates this.

One element in moral standards is keeping ones word. We have seen in the Ramayana how Dasharatha gave up his life but kept his promise to Kaikeyi. In the Mahabharata a young Drupad had promised Drona that as a friend the latter had right to half of whatever he owned. But when the time came to redeem the promise Drupad did not deliver. The keeping of the promise in the Ramayana and the breaking of the promise in the Mahabharata are key events in the respective epics.

The relationship between brothers is another benchmark. In the Ramayana Bharat refused the kingdom that was handed to him on a platter and ruled it in Rama’s name for fourteen years and later returned it to Rama. In the Mahabharata Duryodhana refused to part with even the area that could be covered by the point of a needle when he should have rightfully returned the entire kingdom to Yudhishthir.

Evil always existed but the ways of tackling evil changed. In the Ramayana the war between Good and Evil was fought honourably. When Ravana fainted during the battle Rama ceased his attack till Ravana revived. In the Mahabharata seven generals, including Karna killed the unarmed Abhimanyu. Later Arjuna killed Karna when the latter was unarmed. In fact in the Mahabharata the message is clear. The end justifies the means. If rules have to be bent in order to destroy evil then that is justifiable. Nearly every general in the Kaurava army was tricked into defeat and death.

In the Ramayana evil was represented by the Demons whereas in the Mahabharata the Kauravas and their associates represented evil. Though demons existed at the time of the Mahabharata and Krishna killed many of them evil was not the sole preserve of Demons. There were evil humans as well. And good Demons like Bhim’s son Ghatotkacha and Mayadev the architect who built Indraprastha. In fact Ghatotkacha was the product of the marriage of Bhim to the she-Demon Hidimbaa. Such a union would be unthinkable in the earlier era.

In Ramayana the characters were either good or evil. In Mahabharata they acquired shades of grey. Yudhishthir was the epitome of righteousness but fond of gambling to a fault. Karna was a generous philanthropist, yet encouraged the disrobing of Draupadi. Dhritrashtra was torn between genuine concern for his nephews and the ambition of his son. In the Ramayana one’s duties were quite clear; the Mahabharata was riddled with moral dilemmas.

Though the women were far from equal, the women became bolder in the Mahabharata. Draupadi is easily the boldest woman in Hindu mythology but there were others. Ganga and Satyavati both put conditions for their marriage. Kunti had a child out of wedlock.

In summary society had become more homogeneous with a decline in moral behaviour. Good women had begun to make their presence felt.

Optional Exercises

4a. Read about the enmity of Drupad and Drona from ‘The Indian Epics Retold’ on page 221.

4b. Read the details of the battle from ‘The Indian Epics Retold’ on page 346. Which generals of the Kaurava army were tricked into defeat and death and how?

4c. The classic tale about Karna’s philanthropy is his gifting away of his kavach (armour) and kundala (ear-rings). He was invincible because of them and by gifting them away he gifted his life. The tale can be read at the following site.
http://www.urday.com/beggar.htm

4d. The greatest dilemma of the Mahabharata is Arjuna’s refusal to take up arms and kill his kinsmen in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. It is then Krishna recites the Bhagwad Geeta and elucidates the concept of duty in the larger context of the purpose of life. Reread this section (page 341) and apply it to some of the dilemmas faced by the other characters of the epic.

4e. Karna was Kunti’s son out of wedlock. Read about the circumstances of his birth in detail at this site.
http://www.urday.com/birth.htm

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